Cliché
by venatianwings
Summary: A dream can be your wake up call...a fluffy tale featuring a scanty lashed Ron. RonHermione oneshot.


Disclaimer: Not mine…

A/N: Before you judge this too quickly, let me tell you that I'm a strictly Ron-Hermione fan 

**Cliché**

_By_

_Venatianwings_

Ron Weasley dressed nervously that evening. His hair was being very persistent about sticking up in odd places. His ears looked too big in the mirror as he smoothened out a wrinkle in his robe desperately.

"You could use a wand, you know." Wheezed the old mirror.

Harry poked his head in at this precise moment to ask, "Ron, you ready to go?"

"Huh?" Ron said, distracted by the shock of seeing that he actually had no (or rather very few) eyelashes. For a moment, he considered fake ones. He had once spied Aunt Martha try and delicately brush them off her robes, when one of the unfortunate pair had wilted and fallen from her eyes during the last family wedding. Hmmm…Maybe not.

"Look mate," Harry said exasperatedly, "Hermione's going to be really mad if we don't turn up on time for dinner- especially since it happens to be the fifth anniversary of her marriage to Victor. So are you coming?"

Ron exhaled a long, suffering sigh and muttered, "Yeah, alright. I'll be down in a tick."

…

A five-second swirl through the floo network brought them chez les Krum.

"Wow." Summarized Harry, as he looked around. Ron had to agree- however begrudging his sentiments might have been.

They were standing in a dimly lit salon. The room was carpeted in a deep red. Velvet curtains- drawn apart to reveal a grand French window overlooking the hillside- glowed regally in their innumerable scarlet folds. The ebony furniture was arranged tastefully around the spacious room. A crystal chandelier hung over the intricately worked coffee table. The walls were adorned with rich paintings and at every turn of the head, the eye was greeted by a dash of color in the form of exquisite floral arrangements. Every little detail of the Krum residence spelled elegance and wealth-, which was not very good considering the fact that Ron was dreadfully conscious of himself in his robes. Even Harry's dark green ones he had envied for a long time looked rather faded amidst all the glory.

Unannounced and a little unexpectedly, Krum walked in with a rare big smile on his face, calling out a cheery greeting of welcome to the two young guests. He shook them both warmly by the hands. "How nice it is to see you both again! It has been a while, has it not? I've been rather busy with the team and all…"

Just when Ron thought Victor would start a sermon on the team, and he and Harry had exchanged a quick but significant glance, the hostess for the evening- Hermione, walked in. Ron gaped. Harry had stopped listening to Krum and was now staring over his shoulder at Mrs. Krum.

Hermione beamed at them and quickened her pace across the hall, her maroon flowing robes billowing out behind her, contrasting vividly with the marble white of her shoulders. Her brown hair was piled elegantly on top of her head- a few stray strands strategically hanging loose, framing her face- serving well to soften the sharp aristocratic appearance. The length of her lashes made Ron cringe, as he looked into her chocolate eyes, bright with happiness.

Harry took a step forward and embraced her. "Great Merlin 'Mione, I missed you so much…and- and you look great!"

"Oh, I'm so happy! And thankyou! I've missed you too Harry, oh, so very much!" She let go of Harry and hugged Ron.

'Goodness,' thought Ron, going fiery red, 'Boy, has she grown. I'm quite sure she wasn't this …er… _feminine_…at the wedding!' His reflection cost him her words, which were completely lost on him. Guessing it had to be something delicate along the lines of her missing him dreadfully, he composed himself quickly and replied-

"Yeah, missed you too Hermione…loads."

Victor discreetly cleared his throat, bringing the warm embrace to an abrupt end.

They were having iced pumpkin juice when Hermione suddenly called out, "Eric! Come here baby! See who's come-" From behind the door popped a small brown head and then slowly, the rest of his tiny body. He walked hesitantly to Hermione's side, big grey eyes studying Ron carefully.

Ron smiled nervously. 'She has a kid. Maybe kids. Oh! So that explains the brea-' His ears felt hot already.

Eric looked at Harry and then at his mother. "I want to go to bed," he whispered.

Hermione laughed. "Sure you can sweetie, but don't you want to know who they are? Now, this here is Ron Weasley – go on, say hello…and this is Harry Potter…you remember mummy showing you their pictures in the big brown book?" The child observed the two mysterious men for a while and then shuffled over to his father and wriggled into his lap.

"Put me to bed daddy, I'm sleepy!"

Victor tsk-tskd. "No son, you're going to introduce yourself to our guests now. Then you can go tell nanny to bring in Violet."

The child yawned. "And then I can go to bed?"

Victor nodded, "Yes, and then you can go to bed, Eric."

"Mmm, ok," he said and scratching his head, turned lazily to face the guests. "I'm Eric 'lexander Krum and I'm four years old. I go to the _Tiny Magic Nursery_ where I learn my ABC. I have a sister - Violet - I love her very much. She's only one and very tiny…"

"Ok buster. Very good, that's enough now," said Hermione smiling at her son, "Run along to nanny dear."

"He's a really smart kid!" Ron blurted. Victor looked at him. So did Harry. Unlike the former, however, he burst out laughing.

"Um, yeah. He's a smart one, 'Mione…and victor, of course-" Harry stopped clumsily.

Hermione, however, blind to the apparent awkwardness, was smiling proudly. "I can't wait till he goes to Hogwarts- he's going to be the best!"

"-and he's going to be captain of the quidditch team." Krum added. Ron idly wondered if Hermione could pronounce 'wronski feint' correctly now.

The pleasant conversation flowed on until a plump little witch with white hair and a double chin entered the room, carrying a baby girl in her arms. Violet's bright brown eyes twinkled merrily over her rosy cheeks at the sight of so many people. She had dark curly hair and a bit of a potbelly, Ron noticed, as she jumped up and down in her nanny's arms.

After they had all admired the baby who seemed very pleased indeed, she leapt forward from Hermione's lap toward Ron. He eagerly took the child, being flattered that she bestowed such an honor upon him. He had quite different feelings, however, when little Violet poked him in the eye.

"Oww!" he yelled, scaring the child who promptly began to wail. He shut his eyes tight, trying to stop the watering and felt his head grow lighter…Violet's wails echoed jarringly in his ears and strangely enough, her voice was now merging with a deeper one and a funny humming sound was being increasingly audible by the minute. Ron rubbed his eyes vigorously. The voice was now loud enough for him to make out words-

"Ronald Weasley! For the sake of Merlin-!"

'Huh?' Ron opened his eyes and the full impact of the scene hit him like a bludger to the head. He was in bed, his mother yelling her throat hoarse at him to get up. Without paying heed to Molly Weasley, however, Ron leaped out of bed and ran to the mirror. He peered closely at his face.

"Blimey! Mum, I hardly have any lashes!" ("_Tragic._" said the mirror.)

"Of all the-"

"Mum, but I dreamt about it!"

"Ronald Weasley, do you have any idea what time it is? Hermione has been here fifteen minutes and she's waiting downstairs in the kitchen!"

"Hermione-?"

"Get dressed Ron! I'm sending her up here."

"Mum-no! Wait!-" The door slammed shut in answer. For a moment, Ron stared at it. Then shaking his head as if to clear his thoughts, tumbled right out of bed and into the bathroom.

There was a soft knock at the door. "I hope your decent Ron, I don't want to get a fright in the morning…"

"You can come in, I'm decent."

He grinned at her. She smiled back at him. For a second, Ron raked his eyes over her, relieved to find none of the voluptuous changes that he had envisioned in his dream. And judging by the tiny waist, she couldn't possibly be the mother of two and by the ringless finger, she wasn't married yet. Ron let out the breath that he had not realized he was holding in. She slowly walked over, forcing him to look back at her face. Her eyes were twinkling oddly and there was a faint rosy hue in her cheeks.

"I've missed you," she said and before he knew it, she had flung her hands about his neck and was hugging him.

"Missed you to…" he managed to choke out decently, before he ineptly forgot to close his mouth. They held each other for a second longer and as they pulled apart, he whispered "…awfully." _Damn_. He could feel his ears going red. Hermione watched him with a bemused eye and flushed cheeks. She reached up with a gentle hand and touched his ear, half in fun, and half in wonder.

"Ouch!" She pretended to be burnt. "They're warm! Why are they so warm, Ron?" Ron grew distinctly pinker under the teasing. Hermione did not tease often. _Oh yeah? Well, two could play at that game…_

"You don't seem very cold yourself 'Mione…" he drawled, brushing a lazy finger across her cheek, and tucking away a strand of long brown hair behind her ear. The touch seemed to renew the fire in her cheeks. He watched her blush and he could feel the heat prick at his own cheeks.

"Look who's talking," said Hermione, fingering his nose. "When did you change your name to Rudolph?"

"My nose isn't red!"

"Yes it is and it matches wonderfully with your hair!" she smirked.

"Damn, I must look really silly…"

"No… just cute." She said softly. Ron's heart skipped a beat. It then proceeded to beat a mile a second. He gazed into the brown eyes of the girl before him. They were a tad wide. With a slightly shaky hand, Ron reached up and brushed his thumb just under her lip, barely touching, as if he were afraid he would burn her and he let his hand trail down to push back the thick curls cascading down her shoulder.

"Can I tell you a secret?" He whispered. Hermione shivered, though she knew she was far from cold.

"…Yes." Her voice sounded strange, even to her.

His eyes flitted from her eyes to her lips and back again. "I think…" he paused, "I think I shouldn't think about this…" And without thinking twice, he leaned down and kissed her. A second later, he felt her smile against his lips.

When they pulled away, Ron looked a long moment at the girl in his arms. She was smiling up at him. He did not know how long they stood that way, and honestly, he did not care.

"What is it? Do I have dirt on my nose?" she asked playfully.

He laughed and pulled her to him. "No, but I still fancy you like mad."

"I figured."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

THE END

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: If you're wondering about Ron's scanty lashes- I was looking through some of the pictures of Ron/Rupert and it just struck me that he didn't have too much of them to boast about. Or maybe they're not very noticeable coz they're ginger…whatever! I couldn't resist adding it.

And if you're wondering whether the fact that Hermione's daughter was named 'Violet', was purely coincidental, (insert naughty grin here) It was not.

And if you're wondering about the title, well…I know this story can never win 'the best original plot' challenge, but then, I thought I should include a cliché on my stories list…just for variety 

Ok, I'll let you stop wondering now…

If this story made you smile, just drop a line. That would make me smile too…


End file.
